This title in the Spotlight on the Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations series buckles down on the first of the three, examining various aspects of ancient Maya technology from agriculture and architecture to medicine and writings. Very advanced for their time, the Maya ruled supreme for thousands of years until the declining civilization was eventually overtaken by Spanish conquistadors. But many relics of their technology still remain today, and this volume, illustrated with colorful photographs of ruins and artifacts, effectively explains how they meticulously built their empire: they built canals to aid with agriculture, made use of natural materials to create plaster and rubber to make long-lasting buildings and temples, understood astronomy in a way that led to the creation of their calendars, and developed a written language, allowing today's scientists many insights into their world.